Re: WLAN insecurity

["Robert Holmgren" holmgren@xxxxxxxx]

** Reply to message from flash  on Sun, 24 Feb
2008 08:12:42 +0100

Lots of good advice from Flash. There's another, brute force
method. Buy enough land that the signal can't surpass your
boundaries, and shoo away snoopers carrying portable computers.
And, in counterpoint to Flash's prudent counsel, what about the
secret contrary desire, to blast away? If you want to shoot
long distances, get a directional yagi antenna -- mine boosts
the signal by 24db and slams through forest. Attach an antenna
to your laptop, too -- its no good if your WiFi signal goes a
long way but your puny computer can't reply: it takes two to
tango. I still carry everywhere a battered but reliable Orinoco
Gold PCMCIA card with a plug-in antenna that reaches via a long
cord from my laptop to the window -- great also for piggybacking
in a strange land (although Internet Sharing using a tethered,
data-enabled mobile phone as your "modem" is by FAR the most
reliable and secure method of connecting your computer to the
Internet at surprisingly high speeds, anywhere anyplace there is
cell phone reception -- you are COMPLETELY self-sufficient, and
reliant on no one, no $10/hour hotel charges, nothing). You
don't need a super-duper WiFi access point, at least not in the
land of the free & home of the brave, because the Feds severely
restrict the potential power of these devices -- so any tinker
toy will do. You can replace the firmware in many APs (WiFi
access points) with European firmwares, to unthrottle the beast
inside and double or triple your output in dB. The result is a
signal that can travel kilometers. N.B.: It's illegal to do
this in the USA.

The possibilities are many. What's that helicopter doing
overhead?

-----------------------------
Robert Holmgren
holmgren@xxxxxxxx
-----------------------------